Minibus Driver Assessment Scheme (MiDAS) Driver

The Minibus Driver Assessment Scheme (MiDAS) Driver course is designed to enhance the driving and passenger awareness skills of minibus drivers in the course of their work, and to promote a nationally recognised standard for the assessment and training of minibus drivers. Despite it being recognised that minibuses are a relatively safe form of transport, it is widely held that driving a minibus requires additional skills over those required for driving cars.

The course is designed to be applicable to any organisation using minibuses, from small voluntary organisations, to local authorities operating large fleets of minibuses, in addition to schools, colleges and universities.

Course Objectives

MiDAS is designed to ensure that minibus drivers will be:

assessed to ensure their driving skills are of an acceptable standard

given the opportunity if necessary to undertake further training to improve their minibus driving skills

given a certificate to confirm completion of the assessment and training syllabus

The course consists of two modules:

Module 1

This module consists of a driving assessment undertaken on as many road types as practicable including urban, rural, dual carriageways and motorways. The assessment will take approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes including examination of documents and familiarisation with the vehicle, of which 1 hour will be the driving assessment.

Those who submit themselves for this assessment will be expected to have reasonable experience of driving a vehicle of the size in which they are to be assessed, which will usually be a long wheel-based transit size minibus.

If the client does not reach the required standard, advice will be given on further training and assessment that may be required.

Module 2

The areas covered by this module include:

Legal responsibilities of a minibus driver

Passenger safety

Child passenger safety

Defensive driving

Manual Handling awareness

Health and Safety awareness

Accident and Emergency Procedures

Personal safety for drivers

Passenger lifts, ramps and steps

Securing passenger wheelchairs

We also offer Health and Safety courses that you may find useful to be delivered at the same time as this course. If you require further information on the Health and Safety courses we offer, you can access our pages on Health and Safety by clicking on the links on the left side of this page.

Course Duration

The length of this course is designed to be run over a single day; however this is dependent on the number of people attending the training sessions. Please contact us to discuss your specific needs and arrangements required.

Further Inquiries

If you would like more information specific to your needs, or to discuss your requirements and arrange a quote, please feel free to contact us.